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Inbound travelers and the hotels that will accommodate them will continue to expand in Miami in light of the strong economic growth the city has been displaying, said Frits van Paasschen, president and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. "[T]his is a market that is clearly getting more and more attractive and more and more amenable to inbound and transient travel," van Paasschen said.

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The number of hotel transactions in Europe was down 21% in 2012 versus 2011, but the number of deals is expected to rise this year thanks to better financing opportunities. "There are early signs that this will be the strongest hotel-transaction year since before the crisis," said Frits van Paasschen, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide CEO and president.

Strengthening travel demand and tight supply promise a great future for the global travel industry, says Frits van Paasschen, CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. "Last quarter we suggested 2012 has more potential to surprise on the upside, and we still believe this. Our corporate clients and leisure guests tell us the appetite for travel is quite robust," he said.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts reported net income of $128 million for the first quarter of 2012, against $28 million in the previous year. Revenue also jumped, marking a 32% rise to $1.72 billion on a 6.4% increase in global revenue per available room. "The global lodging recovery forges forward in a turbulent world. We're on the cusp of a golden age of global travel," CEO Frits van Paasschen said.

The hotel industry will continue to benefit from steady demand from business travelers despite persistent economic concerns about China's slowing growth and the eurozone's debt troubles, says Frits van Paasschen, CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. "Even though the headlines continue to be gloomy ... the fact of the matter is that the customer base that we continue to address are more optimistic," van Paasschen said.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide's president and CEO, Frits van Paasschen, said the company may consider a listing in China, where he and several of the company's other executives have moved to evaluate opportunities for expansion. "If tomorrow, listing here is an easy thing to do, would we consider it? Yes," van Paasschen said. Starwood has more than 70 hotels in China and others under construction.